2 Passports

[rober507]

I was wondering if anyone has 2 passporst and uses them both on different occasions when entering Thailand. Do the Thai authorities know that 2 passports are being used. If so will they know the total amount of days stayed in Thaialnd on both passports?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

You name and date of birth won't change, nor will the photographs of you taken on arrival. You'd get sprung.

[bri1guy]

Are you entering both times at same airport?? If you are using the 2nd one on the 2nd entry then they only counting how many enties you have in one passport so U should be clear.. U notbreaking any law & its uncommon so U are a lucky one...

[Mahout Angrit]

U notbreaking any law & its uncommon so U are a lucky one...

Whilst it is not illegal to hold two passports, the Thai law states that it is the person who shouldn't enter Thailand for more than 90days in 6 months on visa free entries not the passport so as they take a mug shot of you when you arrive you'd better be a master of disguise.

[Crossy]

Dead smart these computer thingies, I reckon you'd get sussed. It's certainly against the spirit of the law if not the letter.

I don't think I'd risk it, I have two passports but I always use the same one to enter Thailand (it has the visa in it). Of course you could be our guinea-pig

[jstumbo]

Dead smart these computer thingies,

You would think they could use the same computer thingies to tell them automatically how many days you have been in the country in the last 6 months on visa exempt stamps. If your previous trips show up in the computer, why don't they just look on the computer where it should be very easy to find your last 6 months worth of entries and add them up on the computer. Much more difficult and time consuming to search through the passport.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Dead smart these computer thingies,

You would think they could use the same computer thingies to tell them automatically how many days you have been in the country in the last 6 months on visa exempt stamps. If your previous trips show up in the computer, why don't they just look on the computer where it should be very easy to find your last 6 months worth of entries and add them up on the computer. Much more difficult and time consuming to search through the passport.

It is much cheaper to place the onus on the visitor to get 'real' visa's ( which is what they are aiming at. I can see the day that visa free entries will end )

[rober507]

ok, next question. i really don't want to go back to the Uk to obtain a visa and i've heard that it's illegal to post a passport overseas. is this true and are there any asian countires that issue 1 year visas?

[Crossy]

ok, next question. i really don't want to go back to the Uk to obtain a visa and i've heard that it's illegal to post a passport overseas. is this true and are there any asian countires that issue 1 year visas?

Definitely illegal to post from within Thailand, debatable as to whether you'll get away with it from a nearby country.

What class of visa are you looking for, and what are your grounds for being eligible? If you're looking for a 'visiting friends' type visa you'll need to go a long way (UK or Oz).

[chiang mai]

Trust me when I say, if the Thai authorities don't latch on to what you're doing, the UK will and it will end in tears. My second UK passport was shredded by UK immigration at Heathrow simply because they thought I should only have one and the reasons for the second passport were entirely legit and declared at the time of application. Do not under estimate the extent to which info is shared these days and even Thailand, the sophistication of some of their IT systems.

[rober507]

what happens when you reach the 90 days? i have 22 days left so I have some time to get a visa

[chiang mai]

what happens when you reach the 90 days? i have 22 days left so I have some time to get a visa

When you reach 90 days your visa expires and your "record" in the police computer system is flagged. The next time you try to leave the country or asked to show your passport to the authorities you will be questioned, fined for each day of overstay and potentially, deported.

[lopburi3]

He seems to be talking about 90 days on visa exempt entry out of six months. What happens is you do not receive any more visa exempt entry days.

[Digitalbanana]

Definitely illegal to post from within Thailand,

Since when? I have posted by courier my passport in the past, and at time only condition by Fed-Ex was that it should be ok'd by my embassy first. It's been 3 years since I did that. Needed to apply for a visa in London for a 3rd country that didn't have an embassy in this part of the world.

[Crossy]

Definitely illegal to post from within Thailand,

Since when? I have posted by courier my passport in the past, and at time only condition by Fed-Ex was that it should be ok'd by my embassy first. It's been 3 years since I did that. Needed to apply for a visa in London for a 3rd country that didn't have an embassy in this part of the world.

OK, just to clarify the context:-

It is OK to post/courier your passport to apply for a visa for a country which does not have an embassy here, but this is not the issue in this instance.

It is MOST DEFINATELY not permitted to send your passport from within Thailand to get a THAI visa inserted, which is what the poster was asking about. I would suggest that it's also iffy to send from a country outside Thailand which has a Thai embassy as you should be applying at that embassy.

Edited January 9, 2008 by Crossy

[rober507]

FYI - I got a 30 day stamp in my new passport with o questions asked. Since then I have sent my original passport by DHL to Hull and received a 1 year visa.

Edited January 29, 2008 by rober507

[Priceless]

Aren't you (at least in theory) supposed to be able to present your passport to the police whenever asked to, i.e. you have to carry your PP at all times? I know that you can get around this most of the time by presenting a photo copy of the PP or a driver's license or something, but still makes it sound very dodgy to send the PP abroad

/ Priceless

[rober507]

i have 2 passports

[Crossy]

FYI - I got a 30 day stamp in my new passport with o questions asked. Since then I have sent my original passport by DHL to Hull and received a 1 year visa.

So now all you have to do is a visa run BY AIR to swap passports (you can't swap at land borders).

IMHO Sending your second PP for a visa whilst within Thailand is illegal, be interesting to see how the computers at Swampy react when you re-enter on your old PP.

Edited January 29, 2008 by Crossy

[rober507]

I'm not sure you guys actually know what oure talking about. You all told me I couldnt use different passports, couldnt send my passport overseas etc, etc. Everything you have said has turned out to be the complete opposite

[Priceless]

I think some of the posters subconsciously limited themselves to what you could legally do. There are of course always illegal things that work out all right, as long as you're not caught

/ Priceless

[Crossy]

I'm not sure you guys actually know what oure talking about. You all told me I couldnt use different passports, couldnt send my passport overseas etc, etc. Everything you have said has turned out to be the complete opposite

Have you actually USED this newly obtained visa? Where did you enter?

Out of interest did the consulate send your PP direct to you at a Thai address?

IMHO you are treading a very fine line, please mind you don't fall off.

Edited January 29, 2008 by Crossy

[rober507]

i used my new passport to enter and exit thailand and am now back in thailand with my original passport and visa. i used a UK address for my visa application and had it posted there

[rober507]

FYI

Abg___Applying_from_outside_EU.doc

[Crossy]

FYI

Thanks.

Confirms that you must be outside Thailand and that you must submit via an address in the UK, which is pretty much what everone said

Edited February 15, 2008 by Crossy

[LivinLOS]

Definitely illegal to post from within Thailand,

Since when? I have posted by courier my passport in the past, and at time only condition by Fed-Ex was that it should be ok'd by my embassy first. It's been 3 years since I did that. Needed to apply for a visa in London for a 3rd country that didn't have an embassy in this part of the world.

Despite constant miss information and censorship of this topic on here (for reasons I dont understand)..

This is perfectly legal accepted and the very reason why they will issue you two passports.

How would I apply for a Libyan visa and still carry my passport in Thailand ??

Similarly its perfectly legal to to this for a Thai visa if your not in Thailand. of course the place that issues the visa has to be one that will issue visa's while the person is not in the country of application at the time of application, not all do.

[LivinLOS]

I'm not sure you guys actually know what oure talking about. You all told me I couldnt use different passports, couldnt send my passport overseas etc, etc. Everything you have said has turned out to be the complete opposite

If you did this while you were in Thailand you have broken the law.. The fact you have not yet been caught breaking the law is not relevant.

Now you need to beware every time you travel on either of those in case a flag hits up that you were incountry at time of application, hardly worth it.

My mate did the same with only one passport.. Took a lot of talking to not go to immigration detention centre.

I would also suggest that those breaking the law by this method are doing many that legally use this system a disservice, as its highly likely that pressure would be applied to only accept applications from people in the country of application.

[LivinLOS]

FYI

Thanks.

Confirms that you must be outside Thailand and that you must submit via an address in the UK, which is pretty much what everone said

It used to be they would not only accept applications directly but they would also allow you to arrange your own courier collection to bring it back internationally.. they did it for me a couple of years back while I was on Bali.

I was told that they will no longer do this as they cannot accept the international postage risk any more. Possibly people tried to just use regular mail or cheap solutions and passports were lost ??